Chapter 46: Welcome back

Blake was in a coma-like state, his mind numb, his body distant and unresponsive.

That was why the moment a sudden surge of energy flooded through him, like ocean water burning through his veins, his instincts lashed out.

His hand shot forward, gripping the nearest presence.

His vision was still blurry. He could barely make out that the figure he was choking was a man.

"Guh... idiot... leave me..."

Suddenly, sharp pain shot through his forearm as nails dug into his skin.

Blake frowned. "Kyle?"

His grip loosened as clarity slowly returned to his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Kyle coughed violently, red marks already forming around his neck from the pressure Blake had applied.

For a brief moment, he was genuinely tempted to summon his bow and knock Blake back into unconsciousness.

Straightening up, he snapped, "Fucker, what were you even thinking? Gah... you nearly killed me."

Blake slowly pushed himself up from the bed, an uncertain yet growing realization settling within him.

He... could move.

He raised his left hand, the one that had been crushed beyond recognition.

It moved smoothly.

Not just that, there was no pain at all.

How...?

Blake turned toward his brother, then paused, noticing the faint sweetness lingering on his lips.

"What did you feed me... wait, you didn’t pee on me, right?" There was definitely a salty taste.

"Ahaha...such a missed opportunity but no, I didn’t." Kyle said with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Blake snickered. "Yeah, like you could dare to do that." He again looked at his hand and asked, "But seriously, what did you do? Why do I feel like this?"

He couldn’t understand it.

He remembered clearly. Before losing consciousness, he had felt his aether circuits shatter. His body had been ruined beyond recovery.

There should have been no coming back from that.

And yet...

This didn’t make sense.

His brother shouldn’t have been capable of something like this.

On the other hand, Kyle felt a wave of nervousness creeping in.

He hadn’t expected the elixir to work this well.

Not well enough for Blake to sit up immediately and start questioning him.

His mind raced through several possibilities before he finally said, "I... got it from a friend."

Blake frowned. "What do you mean, a friend?"

"Actually... my girlfriend gave it to me. Said she got it from someone in her family. I didn’t ask much."

He exhaled lightly.

"She told me it would help you. I didn’t believe it at first... thought it was some kind of myth. But I was wrong. I should thank her."

Amanda Maylith. The heiress of the Maylith clan.

Blake’s brows furrowed slightly.

There was no doubt her family had influence and connections. But something like this? A tonic capable of bringing someone back from the brink of death?

He could feel it clearly. His core was stable. The Genesis flow was smooth and complete.

Which meant his aether circuits had been restored.

Completely.

What in the world could achieve something like that?

"Can you show me the container that held the tonic?" he asked.

Kyle shrugged. "I threw it away. Why are you so eager to know the source anyway? Shouldn’t you be happy I saved your ass?"

Blake scoffed. "It wasn’t you. It was that girl. If anything, I should be thanking her and her family."

"Please don’t," Kyle said immediately, shaking his head. "The only thing Amanda asked in return for the potion was that her name stays out of this. I don’t know why, but she was very serious about it. So under no circumstances can you let anyone know that your recovery was because of her."

Blake narrowed his eyes at his brother.

The lying brother.

At that very moment, Blake had already activated his ability, Judgement. And because of it, he knew one thing with absolute certainty.

Every word Kyle had just spoken was false.

He knew that Kyle couldn’t come up with the potions himself and he must have received it from someone...but who exactly? And why wasn’t he naming them?

"So Amanda Maylith is the source of those potions, right?" Blake asked again.

Kyle blinked in surprise before crossing his arms and nodding. "Yeah. How many times do I need to tell you?"

Another lie.

Blake trusted his skill more than anything. If Judgement deemed something false, then it was false.

Which meant Kyle was hiding something.

But why... and how?

If it wasn’t Amanda, then someone else?

Then why use her name?

Yes, it was believable. The Maylith family had the influence and connections to obtain something miraculous. But Kyle shouldn’t have known something like that about her family.

So why Amanda?

And if she wasn’t the source, then who was?

Did someone else give him the potion and tell him to use her name?

Too many questions, too few answers.

In the end, Blake looked straight at him and asked, "Kyle... are you hiding something from me? Something far too significant to keep to yourself?"

Kyle stiffened at those words. What was he suddenly asking?

Did he find out about his sudden awakening? It can’t be...

Blake stepped closer and placed a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. "Whatever it is, you can tell me, Kyle. If you’re worried, I won’t tell our parents. It stays between us."

For a brief moment, Kyle was tempted.

To tell him the truth. That no one had given him those potions. That he had earned them himself by risking his life.

To tell him that he was no longer ordinary.

That he had become a Nightwalker.

But... he stopped himself.

Lowering his head, he said, "I already told you the truth. There’s nothing else."

Blake pressed his lips together and studied him. He didn’t even need his ability to tell that Kyle was hiding something.

Still, instead of pushing further, he stepped back.

"If you don’t want to talk about it now, that’s fine," Blake said. "But if it ever becomes too much, or you find yourself in another shitty situation, call me."

Kyle let out a quiet sigh. "Don’t you get annoyed with me nagging you all the time?"

Blake shrugged. "I do. But I also know this loner brother of mine has no one else to rely on. So go ahead, use that privilege while you can."

Kyle chuckled softly and shook his head.

Stepping back, he grinned. "Welcome back, brother. Try not to get yourself wrecked again."

Blake shook his head, though the faint smile on his face didn’t go unnoticed.